OP: The Arcadia Seasonal Mural and Cookbook

Some chefs and restaurants remain household names, even long after their heyday. Anne Rosezweig and her restaurant Arcadia, however, seem to have faded from the public memory, despite their significant influence on the New York dining scene.

Arcadia, situated on East 62nd Street in Manhattan from 1985 to 1998, was an immensely popular neighborhood restaurant that attracted local regulars, celebrities, and bigwigs. Famed for its rich, hearty, and deeply satisfying fare like the lobster club sandwich and chocolate bread pudding, the restaurant’s menu, first and foremost, changed seasonally, showcasing ingredients at their peak. This ethos was echoed in Paul Davis’ 70-foot landscape mural that circled the restaurant, depicting the shift of one season into the next.

In 1986, Rosenzweig produced a cookbook, a small, oblong (5.25" x 9.25"), unassuming tome at first glance. The interior, however, boasts a clever, bold design—the pages, accordion folded, pull out to reveal Davis’ full mural in reproduction, the menus for each season appearing below. 

The recipes accurately reflect those sophisticated dishes served in the restaurant—duck with rhubarb sauce served over an arugula and asparagus salad in the spring; corn cakes with crème fraîche and caviars (yes, plural) for summer; roast quail seasoned with Szechuan pepper and juniper, served with savoy cabbage and kasha pilaf in the fall; wild mushroom tarts for winter. Of course, the chocolate bread pudding makes an appearance as well.